Method and means for feeding and registering sheets



Dec. 5, 1939. c. w. HARROLD 2,182,023

METHOD AND MEANS FOR FEEDING AND REGISTERING SHEETS 3 She'ets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1937 F I I INVENTOR.

BY CHARLES M4 HHPPOLD fiwa flWn/JW ATTO 5Y5 Dec. 5, 1939. c. w. HARROLD METHOD AND MEANS FOR FEEDING AND REGISTERING SHEETS Filed April 25', 193'! 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Rwmm W n IWM 7 6 Dec. 5, 1939. c. w. HARROLD METHOD AND MEANS FOR FEEDING AND REGISTERING SHEETS Filed April 23, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 WW Q mumfm W Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND MEANS FOR FEEDING AND REGISTERING SHEETS Application April 23, 1937, Serial No. 138,598

16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a method and means for feeding and registering sheets, and has reference particularly to stream feeding, that is to say the feeding of sheets 6 in underlapped formation to a high speed printing press or other sheet handling machine.

Stream feeding, as is well known, facilitates the feeding of sheets to rapidly operating printing presses. A new sheet must of course be presented to a rotary printing press for each revolution of the impression cylinder. When sheets are fed singly they must travel up to the front registering stops at least as rapidly as the sheet moves through the press. Such rapid movement in a feeder for a high speed press presents rather formidable practical difliculties. On the other hand, when sheets are fed in underlapped formation the stream mayprogress at a much lower rate of speed. When a sheet is 20 taken from the stream by the press and moved off the stream at press speed, the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet of the stream is but a short distance from the front stops. Hence its speed of travel as well as that of all the other sheets in the stream may be comparatively slow.

Each sheet, as it comes into the front position of the stream must be stopped and brought into proper registration as regards its front and side edges. The movement of the sheet up to a side gauge requires a certain amount of time. According to methods heretofore used this step must be performed after a preceding sheet has been removed entirely from the stream, or at least after its rear edge passes the side registering mechanism, and must be completed before the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet reaches the side registering mechanism. This time interval varies with the length of the sheet, that is to say the longer the sheet the longer the time required for the press to remove it from the stream, and the shorter the time interval for side registration of the next succeeding sheet.

The present invention provides a new method of side registering the individual sheets of a stream whereby this time interval is maintained in spite of an increased length of sheet, and this is done in accordance with my method by completing the side registration of the sheet after the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet reaches the registering gripper instead of entirely previous to that time.

Apparatus which may be employed in carrying out the method is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmental plan view of a feed board with a stream of sheets thereon and a side registering device in position to act upon the foremost sheet of the stream just prior to the beginning of the side registering movement.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the 6 same taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on a larger scale showing a suction side registering device.

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, respectively, showing the forward sheet registered against the side gauge and the balance of the stream of sheets in the position which they occupy at that time.

Fig. 6 is a vertical detail view of a side register mechanism which I may employ.

Fig. 7 is a fragmental longitudinal sectional view of a feed board wherein a modified form of the invention is employed.

Fig. 8 is a fragmental plan view of the same.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but with the side registering means started on its travel.

Fig. 10 is another similar view at a later point in the cycle, with the next succeeding sheet of the stream shown in a position beyond the point where the side registering action is performed, and

Fig. 11 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 2, and showing that form of the apparatus at the start of a side registering movement where the length of sheets fed is greater than in the case of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring first to the invention as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, and 11, a feed board is shown at l0. Upon it is supported the stream of sheets which are arranged in underlapped formation. The first three sheets of the stream are numbered H, l2 and I3, respectively. The stream is moved down the feed board at a constant speed by means of endless tapes l4 running over driven rollers, one of which is shown at I5. These tapes are driven at a speed which may be as little as one-fifth or one-sixth the speed of travel of a sheet through the press.

Along one side of the feed board at a point slightly behind its forward edge I mount a pair of guides Hi, the inner ends I! of which constitute a side gauge. In these guides there is mounted a slide block in which there is an elongated air chamber IS. The outer end of slide block I8 is pivotally connected with a lever 20, the latter 5 being pivoted to the frame of the machine. at 20. The opposite end of the lever carries a roller 2| running in a box cam 22 mounted upon a shaft 22' which is so driven as to turn once for every cycle of the printing press, that is to say once for every sheet fed. In communication with-the chamber l9 there is a tubular connection 23 which leads to a suitable means for exhausting air intermittently, that is once for each printing press cycle. At the inner end of block ill a series of small ports 24 connect the chamber IS suction at the ports 24 raises the sheet H and brings it into engagement with the bottom surface of the block I8. Cam 22 then acts to swing lever 20 from the position illustrated in Fig. 6 to a second position indicated by the dotted line 20a, which pulls the slide block toward the right from the position indicated in Fig. 3, pulling the sheet II with it, until the side edge of the sheet contacts gauge l1, thereby side registering the sheet. The block l8 continues its travel further to the right, being thereby pulled partly or entirely off the sheet, although before its possible movement is completed the valve mechanism which controls the suction may be actuated to kill the vacuum, causing the shoe to release its grip upon the sheet. Thereupon the lever 20 swings back to its original position, moving block it to its normal position ready to act upon the next succeeding sheet of the stream. While I have shown and explained this suction device Y more or less in detail, it is to be understood that I have done so by way of example only, as other suitable suction apparatus. may be substituted for that herein disclosed without departing from the invention.

At the forward end of the feed board there are a plurality of front stops 25 mounted on an oscillating rod or shaft 26 which is actuated in a well known manner to raise and lower these steps at properly timed intervals. The side registering means functions preferably after the foremost sheet of the stream has contacted these stops. It must however wait until the preceding sheet, then entering the printing press, is out of the way. In Fig. 2 the tail end of such a preceding sheet is indicated at 21. When the stream comes down far enough to cause the foremost sheet I l to engage stops 25 air is exhausted from chamber IS, the sheet II is lifted by the suction ports 24 and pulled over against the side gauge H, as indicated in Fig. 4. At the start of this operation the forward edge of sheet I2 is preferably behind the block I8, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The block l8 with the sheet ll then in its grip thereupon moves outwardly, and the sheet is registered against side gauge II. By the time this occurs the next succeeding sheet 12, traveling with the stream, has progressed to a point beyond the side registering device, it being observed that the latter device raises the top sheet slightly, and furthermore that there is no part of the side register mechanism located beneath the sheet H, and hence that there is no obstruction presented to the travel of sheet 12. Hence, even though the sheets being fed are comparatively long and require more than average time to move off the stream, as is indicated bythe sheet 21' of Fig. 11. so that theside register mechanism cannot be brought into action as early in the cycle of the press as is possible with shorter sheets, nevertheless sumcient time may be taken for the side registering operation because that operation may overlap in pointof timethe travel of the next succeeding sheet past the side registering mechanism.

In Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive I have shown a mechanical side registering device for accomplishing the same purpose as is accomplished by the suction operated device described above. In Fig. 7 the foremost sheet MI is shown moving down the feedmoard past the side registering mechanism. In doing so it travels between the jaws of ahsheet gripper. The lower jaw 30 is beveled on it: forward and rearward edges and fits within a beveled recess or groove 3| formedin the feed board III. The upper surface of the jaw 30 when resting in the groove BI is either flush with or below the surface of the feed board I0, so that there is no obstruction to the movement of sheet II. The upper jaw consists preferably of two fingers 32 which are placed above the path of sheet III so'as to easily clear the sheet as it moves forward toward the stops 25.

After the sheet III has been brought to rest by stops 25, as indicated in Fig. 9, the gripper jaws 30. 32 close upon the sheet. The gripper then rises to such a level that the jaw 30 stands above the sheet H2. Next the gripper moves outwardly carrying sheet I along with it to the side registering position. While this is going on the stream of-sheets behind sheet III of course continues to move forward steadily, and sheet H2 passes beneath jaw 30, as shown in Fig. 10. Should the forward edge of sheet H2 tend to curl upwardly it would strike the beveled rear edge of jaw 30 and be deflected downwardly and under the jaw, and in the event that the forward edge of the sheet should tend to curl downwardly it would encounter the forward beveled edge of the recess 3| and be deflected upwardly out of the recess. When the sheet III has been side registered, the forward stops 25 swing downwardly out of the way and the printing press takes the sheet and rapidly pulls it ofi the stream. Then the gripper, which in the meantime has moved outwardly beyond the side gauge II! and has descended to its lower level, slides inwardly, its lower Jaw 30 traveling in the recess 3| beneath sheet ll2.and its upper jaw fingers 32 traveling above the sheet, when the parts are again in the position of Fig. 7 and the cycle is ready to begin over again. Any suitable mechanism may be employed for causing the gripper jaws 30 and 32 to open and close and for causing the gripper as a whole to move in a rectangular path, that is to say up, out, down and inward.

The invention has been described in connection with sheet'advancing means in which the sheets travel in a continuous underlapping stream from the pile to the registering position, but I desire it to be understood that the invention is also applicable to sheet advancing means which completely separate the sheets for a part of their travel from the pile to the registering position and lap them only as they approach or reach the latter position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A method of registering sheets, consisting in advancing a continuous bank of seriated sheets, front and side registering the foremost sheet of the bank, and while side registering said sheet advancing the remainder of thebankto carry the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet past the point where the side registering operation is performed.

2. A method of registering sheets, consisting in advancing a continuous bank of seriated sheets, gripping the foremost sheet of the bank near its forward edge. and bringing it into registered po-.- sition against front and side guides, and while side registering said sheet advancing the re-- mainder of the bank to carry the forward edge of 75 the next succeeding sheet past the point where the side registering operation is performed.

3. A method of registering sheets, consisting in advancing a continuous bank of seriated sheets, stopping the foremost sheet of the bank, gripping the foremost sheet near its forward end and side registering the same while stopped, and advancing the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet past the side registering point while the foremost sheet is being side registered.

4. A method of registering sheets consisting in advancing a bank' of sheets in underlapped formation with aregular continuous movement, front registering the foremost sheet of the bank, holding said sheet against further forward movement, gripping said sheet near its forward edge and side registering the same while thus held and while the remainder of the bank continues to advance and carries the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet past thepoint where the side registering operation is performed.

5. A method of registering sheets consisting in continuously advancing a bank of sheets in underlapped formation, front registering the foremost sheet of the bank, holding said sheet against further forward movement, initiating side registering movement of said sheet while thus held at a point where the bank is then one sheet thick only, and completing the side registering movement of the foremost sheet after the forward edge of the next succeeding underlying sheet has advanced past the point where the side registering operation is performed.

6. A method of registering sheets consisting in continuously advancing sheets in underlapped formation, stopping the foremost sheet, gripping said sheet near its forward edge and side registering the same while stopped, stopping the first succeeding underlying sheet, removing said foremost sheet, initiating the side registering of said first succeeding sheet while still partly covered by said foremost sheet, and completing the side registering of said first succeeding sheet after the forward edge of the second succeeding underlying sheet has reached the point where the side registering operation is performed.

7. In a feeder for advancing sheets in lapped formation with the foremost sheet uppermost, a feed board, front stops, a side gauge, means for causing the stream of sheets to advance with a continuous movement toward said stops, and .side registering means acting only at the forward edge of the sheet to lift the foremost sheet only of the stream after it has been front registered and to move it sidewise toward the side gauge, thereby permitting the forward end of the remainder of the stream of sheets to advance beyond the side registering means before the completion of the side registering operation.

8. In a feeder for advancing sheets in lapped formation with the foremost sheet uppermost, a feed board, front stops, a side gauge, means for causing the stream of sheets to advance with a continuous movement toward said stops, and side registering means acting to lift the foremost sheet only of the stream after it has been front registered and to move it sidewise toward the side gauge, said side registering means being located longitudinally of the feed board at a point such that the forward end of the stream of sheets behind the foremost sheet will be positioned behind the registering means when the registering operation is initiated and will travel beyond said side registering means before said registering operation is completed.

9. In a feeder for advancing sheets in underlapped formation, a feed board, front stops, a side gauge, means for causing the stream of sheets to advance toward the front stops with a continuous movement, and side registering grippers having an orbital movement up, out, down and inward, whereby the foremost sheet after reaching the front stops is raised, pulled outwardly against the side gauge and released, and whereby the grippers then descend and travel inwardly to a position above and below the next succeeding sheet, ready to grip that sheet after it has been front registered.

10. In a feeder for advancing sheets in underlapped formation, a feed board, front stops, a side gauge, means for causing the stream of sheets to advance with a continuous movement toward said stops, and side registering means acting to lift the foremost sheet of the stream after it has been front registered and to move it sidewise toward the side gauge, said side registering mechanism comprising sheet grippers with upper and lower jaws, the lower jaw being formed to deflect the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet away from the sheet being registered.

11. In a feeder for advancing sheets in underlapped formation, a feed board, front stops, 9. side gauge, means for causing the stream of sheets to advance with a continuous movement toward said stops, and side registering means acting to lift the foremost sheet of the stream after it has been front registered and to move it sidewise toward the side gauge, said side registering mechanism comprising sheet grippers with upper and lower jaws, said feed board having a recess formed therein to receive the said lower jaw.

12. In a feeder for advancing sheets in underlapped formation, a feed board, front stops, a side gauge, means for causing the stream of sheets to advance with a continuous movement toward said stops, and side registering means acting to lift the foremost sheet of the stream after it has been front registered and to move it sidewise toward the side gauge, said side registering mechanism comprising sheet grippers with upper and lower jaws, said feed board having a recess formed therein to receive the said lower jaw, the forward edge of said recess being inclined upwardly and forwardly so as to'direct the leading edge of the next succeeding sheet upwardly in the event that it descends into said recess.

13. A method of registering sheets, which consists in advancing sheets in succession to front and side registering mechanism, initiating the side registering the first sheet before the front edge of the succeeding sheet reaches the side registering mechanism, and completing the registering of said first sheet after the front edge of the second sheet has passed the side registering mechanism.

14. A method of registering sheets comprising advancing sheets in lapped formation with the foremost sheet uppermost, front registering the foremost lapped sheet at a plurality of points along its front edge, side registering said sheet at a single point along its side edge, and while side registering said sheet advancing the next succeeding sheet to carry its forward edge to a position beyond the point where the side registering operation is performed.

15. In a feeder for advancing sheets in lapped formation with the foremost sheet uppermost, a feed board, a plurality of front stops, a side gauge positioned alongside the path of travel of the sheets at a point near the front edge of a sheet resting against said stops, means for causing the sheets to advance toward said stops, and suction side registering means acting to grip the foremost sheet only of the stream by its upper surface after it has been front registered and to move it sidewise toward said side gauge, said side gauge and side registering mechanism being 0 so positioned and operated that the side registersucceeding sheet has reached said side registering means.

16. A method of registering sheets comprising advancing sheets in succession tofront and side registering mechanism, front registering a sheet at a'plurality of points along its front edge, side registering said sheet at a. single point along its side edge, and completing the side registering of said sheet after the forward edge of the next succeeding sheet has reached the point where the side registering operation is performed.

a CHARLES W. HARROID. 

